As part of the D.C. Francophonie Cultural Festival 2020, the Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, The Smithsonian Associates and La Maison Française present the screening of Ashcan (2018) by Willy Perelsztejn.
The Allies had won the Second World War, but they knew almost nothing of the Nazi regime that had bathed Europe in fire and blood. Seeking to understand it, they gathered the civilian and military leaders of their conquered foe together in the same place.
The film immerses the audience in the heart of US military intelligence. Foregoing any use of force or torture, a handful of young American officers obtained extraordinary information about the conquered regime from some of the worst criminals against humanity.
The National Theatre of Luxembourg has produced the world’s first original play based on the secret documents and works unknown to the public that we found. During eight weeks of rehearsals, the documentary production team has followed the theatre troupe in their work step by step to create the play Codename Ashcan. By intervening in the actors’ questioning about the characters they play, the documentary shows the questions also asked by historians and other experts in their research to understand this episode of history: who were the prisoners at Ashcan, who interrogated them, what did the prison look like, how were the prisoners treated, what was daily life like in the prison, what “interrogatory” techniques were used and what information did the Americans obtain.
Free admission – registration required